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[FC3]

Need to hear experiences of others about anemia caused by years of heavy periods caused by peri menopause please…for my sanity!

A few months ago I kept getting seasonal bugs that I couldn’t shake, then stopped functioning completely plus had severe anxiety out of the blue.

Took ages to get Gp appointment but finally got bloods done and had low iron so prescribed ferrous fumarate. She also put me on evorel conti to control periods.

After 3 months of iron meds I am only a tiny bit better and still not really functioning much. (Have all the classic anemia symptoms).

I have dealt with 2 GPs…one said I should have been back to normal after 6 weeks (which scares me as this has not clearly happened and now I feel stuck like this). The other GP told me over the phone that my iron stores were very very low and it will take at least 3-6 months to recover and I need to stay on the iron meds at least 6 months.

Has anyone been in this situation and how long did it take the meds to work? HRT seems to have lightened my periods in the meantime and scan confirmed no other cause of bleeding. Thank you 🙏🏼

[CLKD]

Heavy bleeding can of course cause aneamia.  I would think that the body would take months to rebuild iron levels.  Some foods such as liver  are known to increase levels gradually, by eating a small meal with liver a couple of times a week. 

I think that every patient is different.  It will depend on why levels are low.  Don't be scared, GPs rarely 'think the same'!  Even within a Practice.

U could ask for a referral to a specialist at a hospital for further advice. 

If you have your womb you should be on progesterone too.  Some1 will be along with better advice than I can offer.

   keep a mood/food/symptom diary to chart progress.  Browse round.

[Taz2]

Hi FCS. Do you know your actual reading? I had low iron a few years ago and it took four months of iron tablets before things begin to improve. By six months I could discontinue treatment. Are you taking the supplement exactly as advised? I hope the Evorel conti is working for you too .

Taz x 

[Katherine]

Dear FCS,

Don't worry, if you continue to take ferrous fumarate, in the right way (i.e. not with anything containing caffeine or calcium or within an hour of them) and preferably with Vitamin C such as a glass of orange juice, your levels will increase. I became anaemic due to heavy periods a few years ago and I was on 2 tabs a day and it still took months for my levels to increase, but it did happen and once my levels were high enough I went on 1 tab per day permanently until my periods stop x

[FC3]

Thank you both for your replies. I can’t recall GP telling me my reading (I am so spaced out I’m not retaining much info) but he reckond I’d been anemic for 3 years and my body had just been compensating for a long time while my iron stores emptied.

As much as I hate for anyone else to have gone through this, it’s music to my ears to hear that it took you 4 months to start to improve. So many websites say it only takes 4 weeks, which leaves me panicking.

The GP that put me on HRT and told me I should have been better with the iron after only 6 weeks thinks the answer is to increase my HRT dose and stop the iron. My gut feeling is that I need to give the iron longer to work first.
X

[Ermin2trude]

Hi FCS,

I’ve been on ferrous fumarate for years. It took months for me to feel better and about a year before I dropped from 2 tablets per day to 1. Even now I’m still technically anaemic according to my annual blood test, but I feel fine unless I miss a week or so and then the breathlessness and fatigue return for a few days until I build my iron back up again. You will start to notice a difference but it could take a while.

Keep going.
Ermin

[Katherine]

Can I just add that I have known people to take iron tablets and they didn't work because they were taking them with caffeinated drinks so it is really important to avoid cola, coffee, tea, chocolate and also dairy products for, I think its 2 hours before and 1 hour after taking the iron. I have mine with orange juice or vitamin C containing fruits to enhance absorption. If you do that its only a matter of time until your levels increase.

[CLKD]

Stop reading web-sites? 

Good advice about the caffeine drinks ....... tnx

[FC3]

Thank you all for your replies. Reassuring. I wasn’t having much caffeine but I’ll go cold turkey and be stricter about the timings of my tablets and see if that helps.

[Katherine]

FCS you are most welcome.You don't need to cut anything out of your diet, it's all about the timing and not having things that inhibit absorption too close to taking iron.

[Emma74]

I did a lot of research on low ferritin as mine was low last year. You should avoid caffeine when taking iron as it reduces absorption. Everything you have written is correct. It can take upwards of 6 months for levels to go up. UK say that 22 upwards is within normal range but actually that is still very low.

I've been trying to increase mine with diet, (lots of steaks) as I don't like taking pills but I do drink the spatone sachets to add a little extra. As I read your post I was thinking I'm not consistent so will make sure I have one iron in the morning!

[FC3]

Thank you everyone for replies…it really has helped my sanity.
I found out my initial ferritin level was below 10 but after 7 weeks of meds it was 24. So I guess I’m on the slow, slow climb to a decent level and it is a marathon not a sprint. How we’re supposed to manage life/kids/work in the meantime I do not know…

And I will never again listen to a GP that says “ your ferritins back above 15 now so you should be feeling fine”

[Kathleen]

Hello FCS and welcome to the forum.


As the other ladies have pointed out it can take months for your iron levels to recover.

Red blood cells are replaced every120 days  and this is why blood donors have to wait a minimum of four months between donations to avoid deficiency. 

You could look into iron infusions as another option. I had this once and it is a simple procedure that corrects your levels quickly.

Wishing you well and take care


K.

[Katherine]

Thank you everyone for replies…it really has helped my sanity.
I found out my initial ferritin level was below 10 but after 7 weeks of meds it was 24. So I guess I’m on the slow, slow climb to a decent level and it is a marathon not a sprint. How we’re supposed to manage life/kids/work in the meantime I do not know…

And I will never again listen to a GP that says “ your ferritins back above 15 now so you should be feeling fine”

Hi FCS

I had a similar experience where my iron fell to 9. The official guidance said it should be above 10, however my gp said despite that she wanted to see my iron between 30 and 50. After many months I reached the 40s but then decided to try and maintain those levels through eating more iron rich foods. However due to heavy periods my levels very quickly dropped back down to the 20s and I was told if you have heavy periods you can’t usually maintain your iron levels though diet alone. So now I take one tab per day. It’s great that you reached 24 after 7 weeks, at least you know what works for you and you can keep going and get your levels higher.

[FC3]

Yes…once I am better I am going to take a maintenance dose of the meds every day until my periods are a thing of the past. There’s no way I am going to feel like this again if I can help it. Relieved to see you can easily buy the meds online so I won’t have to battle through the GP system for it too.